"Take it, pce this side against your ear, and the other end toward your mouth..."

  Ali accepted the familiar yet alien gadget - a muggle cell phone. Everyone knew what it was, but as a wizard, he also khat magic made eleics useless, which meant it ractically useless for him. Still, he followed the instrus anyway.

  But before he could even lift the gadget to his ear, he noticed something wrong. No, it wasn't wrong; it was right. The lights didn't go out, and he could hear noise from the speaker.

  His eyes widened in shock. He quickly pressed the phoo his ear, worried it might turn off before he could use it. After all, this was somethiirely o him, something Mic had always denied him.

  " you hear me?"

  The calm, posed man he usually was had disappeared in that moment. Instead, he was like aed child who had just found the best toy in the world.

  " you hear me?" he repeated, holding the phone awkwardly to his face. His voice grew louder with each word. " you hear me?"

  " you hea—"

  "I am right here, moron!" Edward cut in, giving the wizard an annoyed look.

  The sharp interruption from the Arch-Magus snapped him out of his uncharacteristithusiasm. Turning his head, he saw the burly man gring at him like he was some kind of idiot.

  Luckily, Aisha stepped in before things could get any more awkward.

  "Give it to me!" she said, rushing over and snatg the phone from his hand.

  "It's... not dying..." she excimed, then looked at Maverid repeated, "Boss, it's not dying!"

  "Another one..." Edward mumbled, watg the witch's expression ge in a simir way.

  She pressed the phoo her face, pulled it away, aed, looking as ridiculous as Ali before her.

  He then g his pupil, earing an amused expression, like watg two children. And to be fair, Maverick wasn't far off.

  Their reas, though childish, were normal. Using aronic device was pletely fn to them, much like how a Muggle would react if suddenly given the ability to use magic, regardless of age.

  "Boss... how did you do this? This is... this is something for the history books!" Aisha excimed, her eyes shining with excitement.

  Maverick chuckled. "Okay, okay, you give it baow." He held out his hand.

  Aisha pouted. "Do I have to?"

  "You'll get oer," Maverick replied, a hint of amusement in his smile as he took the phone from her.

  Turning to Edward, he held out the device. "Take a look, Teacher. Tell me what you think."

  Edward took the phourning it over in his hands. He rubbed the smooth crystal on the back with his thumb, then looked up at his pupil.

  "How good is your alchemy right now?"

  Maverick didn't hesitate. "As good as Teacher Simon... maybe a bit better... I'm not sure."

  "You're... not sure?" Edward asked, sounding a bit unsure himself. "Do you know who Simon Walker is, as an alchemist?"

  "Of course I do, Teacher. He's a master alchemist."

  "And do you know how many master alchemists are currently in the world?"

  Maverick thought for a moment. "Umm... I think... eleven?"

  "o be exact! Out of eleven, Niel and Liu Yiming are sidered grandmasters in the field—the very best in the world. But the remaining nine are still incredibly important figures."

  "Master alchemists, like your teacher Simon, are the kind of people every wizarding try anization wants to befriend. They're treated like royalty wherever they go," Edward expined.

  This wasn't new information for Maverick, but hearing it from his teacher and taking a moment to really think about it made him realize just how signifit his alchemy talent truly was.

  "Okay, fet about that. Will this work with aronics? And will it work for all magicals?"

  Maverick thought for a moment. "It should, yes. But there might be problems in pces where space is messed up, or pces with strong wards. Otherwise, it should work fine. And yes, any witch, wizard, or even magical creature should be able to use it."

  Edward eyed his student for a long, thoughtful moment. Since Maverick had bee his apprentice, his view of his student's genius had been stantly evolving, as if there were no limit to it. He had watched Maverick's potential grow, transf and expanding in ways that tinually surprised him.

  "Tell me, little Rick. What's your ultimate goal with this?" he asked, his tone serious.

  Maverick took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before speaking.

  "Build a brand, a name so famous that every witch or wizard thinks of it first whehey o buy something..." He looked at Edward with fideeacher, I have the skills, and I have the ideas. I just o get started."

  Edward watched as his student made the bold statement, his expression showing no outward rea. But the idea of ridig him never crossed his mind. After all, Maverick had a way of making the impossible seem ordinary.

  "What I do to help?" he asked, not even b to ask for the details.

  Edward's suddeion caught Maverick off guard. He had expected to be asked for more details, but it seemed that wouldn't be necessary, so he pushed the thought aside.

  "I need a loan, teacher... One million Galleons. In exge, I'll give 20% of the busio the Garling family," he said, getting straight to the point.

  Ali and Aisha's eyes went wide at the number, but they somehow mao stay calm.

  Edward was a little surprised, but not because of the rge sum. For him, one million galleons was a small amount.

  What caught him off guard was that this was the first time his student had ever asked him for anything moary.

  The thought crossed his mind for only a brief moment before he quickly dismissed it. Since his student was fident in the success of his business pn, Edward decided to take the bet.

  "30%. Make it 30, and I'll double it. You think of it as an iment."

  Maverick thought about it for a moment and decided it wasn't a bad deal. Besides, sooner or ter, he would be part of the Garling family anyway.

  Seeing that his teacher had already made up his mind, Maverick agreed, but his curiosity got the better of him. " I ask why you agreed so quickly and didn't ask for the details? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful, teacher... I'm just curious."

  Edward chuckled. "Little Rick, if it were anyone else, I'd ask. But you, I trust you'll make it happen with that sharp mind of yours. Call it a bet." He paused, giving his student a thoughtful look, then added, "Are you pnning to introduce Muggle cellphoo the public right from the start?"

  Maverick shook his head. "Not yet. First, it'll be things for venience—like heaters, air ditioning, refrigerators, lights, all of them. Whatever the No-Majs use to make their life easier."

  "Are those the things you pn to create?" Edward raised an eyebrow. "But we have magid house-elves for that," he reasoned, a little unsure.

  "Teacher, only a few families have house-elves—the elite and the he rest, like over 90% of magical families, 't afford one and rely on magic for everyday chores," Maverick expined.

  He tinued, "Magicals, like the No-Majs, would want venienstead of doing everything themselves. That's human nature. Even if it's casting a spell, if there's an alchemy gadget that does the same thing, they'll want it. No doubt."

  "Think of it like giving everyday magical families their own house-elf. Ohat's cheap and easily avaible."

  Edward listehoughtfully. What his student said made sehen when will the real stuff be introduced? Like unication devices or televisions?"

  "Later..." Maveriswered. "Much ter, after I fiuhe magic-suppressing rune crystal. I want to make sure its fun remains uncrackable for as long as possible. And by the time someone even cracks the principles and tries to replicate it, I want my brand o be everyone's preferred choice."

  After listening to his student's reasoning, Edward dismissed the only he had and gave a reassured nod. "Will that be all then?" he asked.

  Maverick hummed, taking a moment to think. Realizing something, he added one final request. "I may also o borrow your the start when I introduce my iions to the world. I pn to begin iates, where your endorsement would be most effective in marketing."

  Edward waved his hand, as if Maverick's request was nothing. "Just let me know when and where to show up..."

  Maverick sighed at how easily the iations—if it could even be called that—had go felt more like a casual talk, he thought to himself.

  "Thank you, teacher. This may be a small thing for you, but for me, it will save a lot of time and trouble. I really appreciate it..." Maverick said, his expression filled with gratitude, and he meant every word.

  Edward chuckled at his apprentice's shy and thankful expression. In all hoy, he would have agreed even if Maverick had requested ten times the amount he had stated. Most importantly, Maverick wasn't just his apprentice—he was soon to bee a real part of the family, his son-in-w.

  It was time for Edward to leave, as he had kept some very important people waiting. But before he left, he decided to add o detail as a hought crossed his mind.

  "Once you've healed up and gotten a det break, let me know. I'll take you somewhere," he told his student.

  Maverick raised an eyebrow, curious. He nodded in agreement but couldn't help asking, " you tell me where?"

  "Alchemist Guild," Edward answered. "It's where the world's most iial and famous alchemists are tered. It's also where they grade the level of an individual, from appreo star alchemist, all the way to three stars and then master alchemist, which is the highest."

  "The two grandmasters are people that are very far from the reach of everyday folks... well, I guess you're the exception," he expined, a little smirk pying at the er of his mouth.

  He tinued, "I want you to take the Master Alchemist exam a certified. It'll help you when you start your business and introduce whatever it is that you want to the world."

  Maverick thought about it for a moment before nodding. It seemed like a good idea and would help him build a stronger reputation as a wizard. He wasn't ready to reveal his status as a Great-Magus yet, but earning reition as a certified Master Alchemist would create a fitting and strategic image.

  "Just give me a couple of days, and I'll be all healed up aed," Maverick told his teacher.

  Edward nodded and gave a quice around the room. "Keep a for tomorrow's news, by the way. We mao get some det shots of your duel," he said with a smile before disappearing with a pop.

  The mention of the neers didn't surprise him—it had been his idea in the first pce. He had asked his teacher to eheir duel was captured and anonymously sent to the media. It art of a rger pn to give more exposure to his alias.

  He let out a soft, tired sigh, filled with both exhaustion and relief.

  Tonight, a signifit part of his ambition and its groundwork had fallen into pce—much earlier than he had inally pnned.

  He turo Ali and Aisha, who were watg him expetly. Maverick could see the questions in their eyes, but tonight, he had no energy left for more discussions.

  "Get some rest, both of you. Tomorrow, I'll expihing," he said.

  The two magus exged a gnce before nodding in agreement. They could see the exhaustion clear on his face.

  Maverick turned and walked toward one of the doors, his mind already on the few days.

  First, he o heal pletely—at least to the point where there were no scars or bruises. The st thing he wanted was to make his parents worry.

  , he po spend a week at home with his parents and his new sister, sav a bit of normalcy. Because ohis brief break ehe months ahead would be anything but easy. The plot was drawing closer, and there was still so much he o aplish.

  —————

  Author's note:

  And that's the end of this short arc!

  The chapter will include a time skip, as we move toward the main plot. There will be several jumps in time, but don't worry—it's all building up to somethiing!

  I'm really excited to share the big pn I have. I promise you, this won't just be a simple story about babysitting the trio. This is an Mtered story, and I won't be dedig chapters upon chapters to their everyday school life. There's so much more to e!

  Thank you so much for reading, and your support means the world to me!

  Please leave a review on Webnovel. I would truly appreciate it!

  Just a quick update — up to Chapter 94 is already avaible on P AT r30n!

  PAT r30n [.] / RyanFic

  Thank you again!